RICHARD J. KUHN

My laboratory is interested in the replication, assembly and structure of RNA viruses with an emphasis on their interactions with the host. Our molecular studies utilize cutting edge tools in functional genomics, high throughput systems technologies, cell biology, and structural biology. Our focus in recent years has been on model systems in the alphavirus and flavivirus groups, and include viruses such as Sindbis, Chikungunya, dengue, West Nile, and hepatitis C viruses. Most of these human viruses are transmitted by insect vectors and therefore alternate between widely diverse hosts. Directly related to our basic studies is application-based research that seeks to identify new therapeutics for disease intervention.

Education

Ph.D. SUNY at Stony Brook, 1986

Awards

Purdue University Faculty Scholar, 2004-2009

Faculty of 1000 Biology – Faculty Member (2004-present)

Member of the U.S. Panel on Viral Diseases of the US-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program, 2007-present

Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2007-present

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2007-present

“Dengue Virus: An Emerging Scourge of the 21st Century” featured speaker at the First Annual Richard McCullough Lecture for Saddleback College Science Lecture Series, February 11, 2011, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA.

“Role of Membranes in Dengue Virus Infection” invited speaker at the Dengue Research Conference, A Re-Emerging Challenge: New Opportunities for Dengue Research Collaboration sponsored by NIAID, February 15-18, 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico

“Comparative studies of flavivirus and alphavirus assembly” invited speaker at the Distinguished Lecture Series at Georgia State University, February 24, 2011, Atlanta, Georgia.

Richard Kuhn has made faculty presentations at the following institutions over the last three years: Northwestern University, Georgetown University Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, Montana State University, University of Texas Medical Branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chiang Mai University and Mahidol University (Thailand), Stockholm (Sweden), Yale University School of Medicine